The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to an endbell for electrical connectors.
It is common to utilize an endbell on an electrical connector to protect the wires of the electrical cable which are connected to the contacts in the connector shell and to prevent dust, particles and moisture from entering the rear of the connector. The endbell provides strain relief for the cable so that excessive forces applied to the cable will not cause the wires thereof from being disconnected from the contacts in the connector shell.
It is the normal practice to initially slide the endbell over the cable and then connect the wires of the cable to the connector contacts, which are typically installed in the insert or insulator in the connector shell after the contacts are terminated to the wires. After all the contacts are installed in the insulator, the endbell is pushed forwardly on the cable so that it may be threaded to the rear of the connector shell. It will be appreciated that if the installer fails to initially place the endbell over the electrical cable, there is no way to mount the endbell on the rear of the connector shell without first removing all of the contacts from the connector since the connector shell is so large that the endbell may not be assembled over the shell from the front.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel endbell which may be installed on an electrical connector harness assembly even after the wires of the cable have been connected to the contacts of the connector and the contacts have been installed in the connector insulator.